Pianist Lewis Porter headlines a veteran all-star trio this Thursday night at Scullers Jazz Club. Joined by Grammy award-winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist John Patitucci, Porter is premiering his new album Beauty and Mystery to be released on the Altrisuoni label this week. Joining the trio is saxophonist and Berklee professor Tia Fuller. Porter’s own […]

On Friday night the renowned drummer Jaimeo Brown will perform with his ensemble at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston. Brown’s award-winning Transcendence Project features guitarist/producer Chris Sholar and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. Among the vanguard of today’s jazz musicians, Brown’s innovative blending of jazz, hip hop, samples of traditional African American music (including field recordings), and […]

Resonance Records continues its spate of stellar historical albums with a previously unreleased live recording of the late pianist/vocalist Shirley Horn and her long-standing trio, bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams. The set, recorded at the 4 Queens Hotel in Las Vegas, occurred the day after Horn’s 54th birthday during a year in which she […]

Ari Hoenig Trio at the Regatta Bar – Wednesday, January 25, 7:30pm Ralph Peterson Jr. at Scullers Jazz Café – Thursday, January 26, 8pm Two superior drummers–a teacher and his former student–lead groups at two of Boston’s premiere jazz rooms this week. Both shows promise top-notch performances by internationally renowned musicians. Over the last two decades […]

“When children grow up, where does the hope go? Is it outgrown like a pair of shoes or has it gone to sleep? Or is it lost somewhere inside of us?” – William Parker Because of an early start to the Spring 2017 semester, I missed the superb Winter Jazz Fest this year, following from […]

In the Spring 2017 semester I’ll be teaching courses in three different areas—popular music, jazz theory & performance, and ethnomusicology—all of which are open to all Northeastern students. In each I’ve planned a series of events and activities that will take us out of the classroom and into the city of Boston. If you’d like […]

Last Tuesday I joined Greg Thomas, Clifford Thompson, and Robert O’Meally on a panel celebrating Albert Murray’s writing and scholarship at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem on the occasion of Murray’s 100th birthday. Given the depth of their personal and studied familiarities with Murray, I’ll admit to being both honored and a bit daunted by the […]